Norton Rose Fulbright

With more than 800 lawyers based in the U.S. and another 3,000 around the globe, Norton Rose Fulbright is a legal force. The firm has dozens of offices across six continents and is particularly well known for its energy practice.

Teaming Up to Go Global

Norton Rose Fulbright is the product of some of the last decade’s largest law firm combinations, but the legacy firms each had a long history before the recent mergers. U.K.-based Norton Rose traces its history to the late 1700s, when attorney Robert Charsley hung out his shingle in London. Over the years, the firm expanded through organic growth and combinations to become one of the ten largest firms in the world by 2012. 

Meanwhile, in the United States, R.C. Fulbright founded a firm in Houston in 1919 and was joined by Leon Jaworski in 1931. Fulbright & Jaworski garnered a strong reputation in the energy, financial, transportation, and healthcare industries. Fulbright partners were instrumental in the creation of the Texas Medical Center, the largest medical center in the world.

In 2013, the two firms combined to form megafirm Norton Rose Fulbright with more than 3,000 lawyers worldwide. In 2017, Norton Rose Fulbright brought on another 300 attorneys through a merger with New York-based Chadbourne & Parke, which brought a host of experience in project finance, energy, insurance, and products liability.

Global Industry Focus

Norton Rose Fulbright serves major corporations, financial institutions, and innovative startups across the globe, with particular expertise in financial institutions; energy, infrastructure, and resources; transport; technology and innovation; and life sciences and healthcare. Through its global risk advisory group, Norton Rose Fulbright leverages its industry experience with its knowledge of legal, regulatory, compliance, and governance issues to provide clients with practical solutions to the legal and regulatory risks facing their businesses. According to the firm, Norton Rose Fulbright operates in accordance with its global business principles of quality, unity, and integrity. 

A fixture in Vault’s Top 10 for Energy, Oil, & Gas, Norton Rose Fulbright is a go-to firm for energy matters. The firm’s energy team spans the globe and counsels clients on issues relating to oil and gas, power and utilities, renewables, and water. The team must take a multidisciplinary approach to handle its clients’ wide-ranging issues, including everything from antitrust and environmental law to IP matters and M&A to tax and contract law, to name some.

More than Billables

At Norton Rose Fulbright, life isn’t just about billables—the firm offers a host of perks, including a variety of wellness programs. When associates need a break from the stresses of lawyering, they can turn to the firm’s meditation and mindfulness programs. For those with health on their mind, the firm offers biometric screenings, heart health resources, and on-site flu shots, as well as step challenge and healthy weight challenge. 

The firm also looks out for its lawyers’ financial health, with both student loan refinancing resources and personal financial planning resources, such as mortgages, lines of credit, and capital loans.

• Watergate: In 1973, Leon Jaworski of Fulbright & Jaworski (which later became Norton Rose Fulbright) was appointed to serve as Special Prosecutor for the Watergate investigation, which eventually led to President Richard Nixon’s resignation.
• Texas Blue Law: In the 1980s, the firm represented a hardware store chain being sued for defying the Texas Blue Law, which kept most stores in Texas closed on Sundays. Firm lawyers argued the law was unconstitutional, and the judge agreed. While on appeal, authorities stopped enforcing the law, allowing Texans to shop on Sundays. The Texas Legislature then repealed the law, making the appeal moot.

• Perfect score for policies and practices related to LGBTQ+ workplace equality for the seventh consecutive year, 2022—Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index 
• WILEF Gold Standard Certification for the ninth time, 2022—Women in Law Empowerment 
• Innovations in Diversity and Inclusion Award – Legalweek Leaders in Tech Law Awards, 2022—ALM/The American Lawyer
• Practice Group of the Year for Energy, 2022—Law360
• Chambers Associate: Top law firms for diversity—Endorsed, 2022—Chambers